{"id":4683,"date":"2013-11-22T19:43:18","date_gmt":"2013-11-23T03:43:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.consciencelaws.org\/?p=4683"},"modified":"2018-03-05T21:04:50","modified_gmt":"2018-03-06T05:04:50","slug":"belgian-euthanatist-notes-some-reluctance-among-physicians-advocates-more-euthanasia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.consciencelaws.org\/?p=4683","title":{"rendered":"Belgian euthanatist notes some reluctance among physicians, advocates more euthanasia"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Dr. Wim Distelmans is a Belgian physician who is a leading practitioner and advocate of euthanasia.\u00a0 He has provided euthanasia in high-profile cases, like that of the woman who was dissatisfied with the results of sex change surgery, and of deaf twins who did not want to continue to live because they were going blind.\u00a0 He acknowledges having provided euthanasia in &#8220;a lot more borderline cases,&#8221; but declines to discuss them because of the publicity might have adverse effects on legalization of the procedure elsewhere.\u00a0 He is also co-chairman of the federal commission that reviews reports of euthanasia.\u00a0 In an interview with a National Post reporter, he said that Belgium had &#8220;a good law on euthanasia,&#8221; but indicated that many physicians, hospitals and nursing homes\u00a0\u00a0are reluctant\u00a0to provide the service.\u00a0 He described them as\u00a0&#8220;still very prudent,\u201d adding,\u00a0\u201cThere are still a lot of people suffering unbearably because they ask for euthanasia and they don\u2019t get it.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>It is not clear to what extent the &#8220;prudence&#8221; Dr. Distelmans attributes to his reluctant colleagues reflects conscientious objection; it could be simply the result of a more cautious interpretation of the law.\u00a0 In any case, Dr. Distelmans wants the law expanded to permit euthanasia for those suffering from dementia who have made advance directives to that effect before becoming incompetent.\u00a0 He also wants the law extended to allow euthanasia for minors.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Distelmans implies that a physician has &#8220;a medical responsibility&#8221; to provide euthanasia in appropriate cases. [<a href=\"http:\/\/news.nationalpost.com\/2013\/11\/22\/death-by-doctor-controversial-physician-has-made-his-name-delivering-euthanasia-when-no-one-else-will\/\" target=\"_blank\">National Post<\/a>]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dr. Wim Distelmans is a Belgian physician who is a leading practitioner and advocate of euthanasia.\u00a0 He has provided euthanasia in high-profile cases, like that of the woman who was dissatisfied with the results of sex change surgery, and of deaf twins who did not want to continue to live because they were going blind.\u00a0 &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/news.consciencelaws.org\/?p=4683\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Belgian euthanatist notes some reluctance among physicians, advocates more euthanasia&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5432,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[402,162,9],"tags":[1112],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-4683","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-belgium","category-euthanasia","category-news","tag-wim-distelmans"],"yoast_head":"\r\n<title>Belgian euthanatist notes some reluctance among physicians, advocates more euthanasia - 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